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KR-20260065878-A - Laser cleaning of used components in the substrate processing chamber

KR20260065878AKR 20260065878 AKR20260065878 AKR 20260065878AKR-20260065878-A

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for cleaning a used component from a substrate processing chamber are provided. In some embodiments, the method comprises the steps of: obtaining a used component having a ceramic base and a process residue generated as a byproduct in the substrate processing chamber and in direct contact with the ceramic base; and removing the process residue at least partially by scanning a laser beam over the process residue.

Inventors

  • 인, 춘롱
  • 왕, 칭-파오
  • 리우, 조셉
  • 린, 이씽
  • 찬, 분 센
  • 살리미안, 시아막

Assignees

  • 어플라이드 머티어리얼스, 인코포레이티드

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20240827
Priority Date
20230905

Claims (20)

  1. A method for cleaning used components from a substrate processing chamber, wherein the method comprises: A step of obtaining a used component having a ceramic base and a process residue generated as a byproduct in the substrate processing chamber and in direct contact with the ceramic base; and A method comprising the step of at least partially removing the process residue by scanning a laser beam across the process residue.
  2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the scanning comprises controlling at least one of the motion, energy density, or power density of the laser beam across the process residue.
  3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the scanning is performed in one or more passes.
  4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam has an energy density selected to ablate the process residue, rather than the ceramic base.
  5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam has a power density of about 1 × 10⁴ W/ cm² to 8 × 10⁶ W/ cm² .
  6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam has a power of about 10 watts to 1000 watts.
  7. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the component used comprises a liner, a lead, a susceptor, or a chuck.
  8. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the ceramic base comprises at least one of yttrium oxide (YO), silicon carbide (SiC), aluminum oxide ( Al₂O₃ ), or aluminum nitride (AlN).
  9. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the process residue comprises at least one of a carbon layer, a polymer layer, a fluorinated material, silicon nitride (SiN), a metal, or an oxidized metal layer.
  10. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the ceramic base comprises yttrium oxide (YO) and the process residue comprises a fluorinated material.
  11. In claim 10, the above-mentioned component used is at least one of the liner or lead of the substrate processing chamber.
  12. In claim 11, the scanning method completely removes the process residue, leaving an exposed surface of the ceramic base having a surface roughness of less than 200 μin.
  13. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the ceramic base comprises silicon carbide (SiC) and the process residue comprises silicon nitride (SiN).
  14. In paragraph 13, the above-mentioned component is a susceptor of the substrate processing chamber, method.
  15. In claim 14, the scanning completely removes the process residue, leaving an exposed surface of the ceramic base having a surface roughness of 30 μin to 200 μin.
  16. In any one of claims 1 to 6 , the ceramic base is aluminum oxide ( Al₂O₃ ) or a method comprising aluminum nitride (AlN), wherein the process residue comprises titanium.
  17. In paragraph 16, the above-mentioned component is a chuck of the substrate processing chamber, method.
  18. In claim 17, the scanning method completely removes the process residue, leaving an exposed surface of the ceramic base having a surface roughness of less than 5 μin.
  19. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising the step of repositioning the used component from a first position to a second position with respect to the laser beam and repeating the scanning at the second position.
  20. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the laser beam has a wavelength of 300 nm to 1100 nm.

Description

Laser cleaning of used components in the substrate processing chamber The embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the cleaning of substrate processing components, and more specifically, to apparatus and methods for cleaning components with a laser. Some substrate processing chambers include components that may have a ceramic base (e.g., an electrostatic chuck). During substrate processing in the substrate processing chamber, the ceramic bases of the components may come into direct contact with residues of byproducts from the substrate processing operations. Wet cleaning and polishing have been used to clean some of the used components of substrate processing chambers. However, wet cleaning and polishing can cause gas emissions when the wet-cleaned and polished components are reused. Additionally, wet cleaning and polishing can cause changes in the morphology and properties of the ceramic bases of the components, or cause pitting of the ceramic bases. Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus and method for cleaning used components of substrate processing chambers that can remove residues without gas release and without altering or damaging the ceramic base. Methods and apparatus for cleaning a used component from a substrate processing chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method for cleaning a used component from a substrate processing chamber comprises the steps of: obtaining a used component having a ceramic base and a process residue generated as a byproduct in the substrate processing chamber and in direct contact with the ceramic base; and removing the process residue at least partially by scanning a laser beam over the process residue. Other and additional embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. Embodiments of the present disclosure, briefly summarized above and described in more detail below, may be understood by referring to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, since the present disclosure may allow for other embodiments of equivalent effect, the accompanying drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be construed as limiting the scope. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for cleaning used components from a substrate processing chamber according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a method for cleaning a used component from a substrate processing chamber according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system that can be used with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of understanding, where possible, the same reference numbers have been used to denote identical elements common to the drawings. The drawings are not drawn to scale and may be simplified for clarity. The elements and features of one embodiment may be advantageously incorporated into other embodiments without further mention. Embodiments of a system and method for cleaning a used component from a substrate processing chamber are provided herein. The used component may be a component used in various types of substrate processing chambers, including etching, ALD, PVD, and CVD chambers. The used component has a ceramic base and a process residue in direct contact with the ceramic base. The ceramic base may be a bulk, coating, or layer of the used component. The process residue may be a byproduct of substrate processing in the substrate processing chamber. In some embodiments, the used component may include at least one of liners, lids, chucks, and susceptors, as well as any other component of the substrate processing chamber having a ceramic base in direct contact with the process residue. The embodiments described herein use laser scanning to clean the used component and to remove at least a portion of the process residue from the used component. Laser scanning according to some embodiments can remove the process residue without subsequent gas release after use of the cleaned component and without altering or damaging the ceramic base. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system (100) for cleaning a used component (102) from a substrate processing chamber according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, and as illustrated in FIG. 1, the used component (102) comprises a ceramic base (104) and a process residue (106) in direct contact with the ceramic base (104). As mentioned above, the ceramic base (104) may be a body, coating, or layer of the used component (102). The system (100) may include a chamber (108) for receiving the used component (102) during a cleaning operation described in more detail below. In some embodiments, and as illustrated in FIG. 1, within the chamber (108), the system (100) may include a laser head (110), a robot (112), a sample stage (114), and a fume extraction system (116). The robot (112) can support the laser head (110)